Tape-measure



No Model.)

T. 1v1. KENNBY.

TAPE MEASURE.

119. 443,681. Patented 1190.30, 1890.

FLL? Z,

Nrrn STATES THOMAS M. KENNEY, OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS.

TAPE-MEASURE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters atent 110.443,681, dated December30, 1890. Application tiled August 20, 1888. Serial No. 2783,18? (NomodelJ To @ZZ wiz/m it may concez'nf Be it known that I, THOMAS M.KENNEY, of Cambridge, county of Middlesex, and State of Massachusetts,have invented an Improvement in Tape-Measures, of which the followingdescription, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is aspecification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

My invention relates t0 a tape-measure such as commonly employed bysurveyors, the object of the invention being to increase the convenienceof operating the measure, and the invention relating, mainly, to themechanism Y for winding the tape into its inclosing-case up the tapethan is required for the man who has held the free end of the tape towalk up and join the one who is winding the tape into its case.Furthermore, in tapes as commonly made there is no stop to prevent thereel from turning to unwind the tape, so that when any distance lessthan the full length of the tape is to be rneasuredas, for instance, adistance of Iifty feet with a hundred-foot measureit almost invariablyhappens that an additional length is drawn out from the reel which hast-o be wound in, thus causing inconvenience and waste of time.

The invention is embodied in a tape-measure comprising a tape andwinding-reel therefor and inclosing-case, all of which may be ofsubstantially usual construction. The reelspindle, however, instead ofhaving the usual handle connected with it, has xed upon it aratchet-wheel and is provided with an actuating-drum, which is looseupon the said tapereel spindle and provided with apawl adapted to engagethe ratchet on said spindle and turn the same in the direction to windon the tape, although the drum turns in the opposite direction withoutturning` the tape-rcel, as the pawl then passes backward over the teethof the ratchet without disengaging it. This actuatas inclosed in asecondary case or projection at the side of the main case containing thetape-reel and tape, and the act hating-drum is acted upon by a springtending to rotate it in the opposite direction to that which winds thetape on the main reel. The said .actuating-drum is of much smallerdiameter than the tape-reel, and has fastened to and Wound upon it ashort band or strap which winds on the said drum in the oppositedirection to the rotation that winds the tape ou the tape-reel. The saidband is provided with a stop that limits the movement in winding ontothe actuating-drum, said stop being shown in this instance as a ring,which also serves asa handle t0 manipulate the band, and by pulling outthe said band or unwinding it from the actuating drum the said drum isrotated and by the ratchet and pawl also rotates the tape-reel in thedirection to wind the tape,

which latter is taken up much more rapidly lthan the actuating-band isunwound, owing tothe difference in diameters between the actuating-drumand tape-reel. Thus by alternatelypulling on the actuating-band and thenpermitting it to be run in or be Wound upon the drum by the action ofthe spring the tape can be wound intermittingly,but very rapidly. Inorder to permit the unwinding of the tape, the ratchet and pawl must beretained disengaged, or, in other Words, the pawl held away from theteeth of the ratchet, and a device is provided for thus disengaging thepawl, which is done while the tape is beingpulled out. The pawl is thenagain permitted to engage the ratchet, when the winding deviceconstitutes a stop to prevent further unwinding` of the tape, as thelatter can only be unwound by a corresponding winding on of theactuating-band; but the latter is already Wound on as far as permittedby its stop. The parts are then ready for the winding in of the tape bythe manipulation of tho actuating-band, as before mentioned.

The case -is provided with a tally or movable pointer (3o-operating witha dial which may be moved by the operator each time a given length ismeasured oft, so asto assist in ing-drum and ratchet is shown in thisinstance keeping the aecountof the number of lengths in measuring agiven distance.

Figure .l is a face view of the tape-measure, showing the secondary easecontaining the windingmechanism; Fig. 2, a face view of the oppositeside of the case, showing the tallypointer and dial; Fig. 2l, a sideview similar to Fig. l, with the coverof thewindingmechanism and thepawl-disengaging device rcmoved; Fig. l, a vertical section of theentire instrument; Figs. 5 and G, side elevations of thewindingmechanism, showing the pawldisengaging device in differentpositions, said lgures being on a larger scale than thc first fourfigures; and Figs. 7 and S, details to be referred to.

Thetapea and its in closing-ease d and winding-reel a?, (see Fig. 4,)contained within the said case, may all be substantiall y the same as intape-measures now commonly used, said tape ruiming out through a smallslot or opening in the side of the case and being provided with a ringa3, which serves as a handle for drawing out the tape and also toprevent the end of the tape from being drawn wholly into the case. Thesaid reel a2 is keyed, pinned, or otherwise fastened securely upon ashaft b, which extends out through the side of the case and into a smallor secondary case d at the side thereof, which contains the windingmechanism, and is shown in this Vinstance as provided with a removablecover e, fast.- ened to thc main cylindrical portion of said secondaryease by projections a (see Fig. l) in undercut notches a7 in the saidcylindrical portion after the manner of what is commonly known as abayonet-joint. The spindle l) of the tape-reel also has fixed upon itaratchet c, and has loose upon it an actuating drum (l, having pivotallyconnected with it at d (see Fig. 3) a pawl e, which when the said drinnis turned in one direction may engage the said ratchet c and rotate thesame and the connected shaft and tape-reel in the direction to wind thetape a into the case; but when the said drum d is turned in the oppositedirection the pawl runs back over the teeth of the ratchet-wheel withoutturning the same or producing any effect on the tapereel and tape. rlheratchet and pawl constitute a clutch mechanism, by which the rotation ofthe drum in one direction causes the tape-wheel to accompany it, butpermits the drum to turn in either direction, accompanied by thetape-reel.

The spring 6*, connected at one end with the case and at the other endwith the drum (l, tends to turn the said drum in the direction to carrythe pawl back over the teeth without engaging the same, and the said drn1n has fastened to and wound upon it an actuating-band f, which passesont through a slot in the side of the secondary case, and is providedwith a stop f that prevents its end from drawing into the secondary casewhen. winding upon the drum (l, the said stop bcing shown as aring,which also serves as a handle to facilitate the manipulation of the saidactuating-band. The spring c* also tends to rota-te the drum in thedirection to wind the band j thereon and will retain the said band fullywound up, except when positively unwound by pulling it out from thecase.

The drum d is of much smaller diameter than the reel a, as shown in Fig.il, and the band and tape wind on the drum and reel, respectively, inopposite directions, so that when the drum and ratchet are connected bythe engagement of the ratchet c and pawl c the unwinding of one willtend to produce the winding on ot' the other, and the rotary movement ofthe drum and reel produced by the positive unwinding of the band f bythe opcrater pullii'ig on the handle f thereof will cause a much morerapid winding up of the tape a upon its reel a?, such winding also beingmuch more rapid than can be produced by turning the shaft l) directly byhand,as is done in instruments of this hind as heretofore commonly made.lVhen the pawl is in engagement with tl1eralchet,itis evident that thetape d cannot be unwound without a further winding on of the band f,which is provided against by its stop f', so that the said tape Ctcannot unwind when the ratchet and pawl are in engagement, and if thesaid ratchet and pawl are brought into engagement after any requiredamount of tape a, has been unwound while the said ratchet and pawl weredisengaged the .aid devices will actas a stop to preventing furtherunwinding of the tape.

The pawl e might be left accessible, as shown in Fig. 3, and simply heldout of engagement of the ratchet by hand when the tape d. was to beunwound; but for greater convenience in operation a pawl-d isengagingdevice is provided, (bcst shown in Figs. 5, (i, and 7,) the said deviceconsisting of a ring g, the periphery of which eo-operates with a cam orinclined portion e', connected with the pawl e, the said ring g beingmovable longitudinally on the spindle t), so that when in the positionshown in Fig. 5 it is substantially disengaged from the cam c',permitting the pawl to engage the teeth, but when moved to thc positionshown in Fig. ti it has engaged the said cam portion and wedged the pawlout of engagement with the teeth of the ratchet, which latter is thenfree to turn independently of the pawl. This longitudinal movement ofthe pawl-disengager is produced by projections g', that extend outthrough the cover a5 in position to be engaged by the fingers of theoperator, who, by pressing inward on said projections, will move thering g from the position shown in Fig. 5 to that shown in Fig. G, andVthus disengage the pawl. To provide for retaining the pawl disengaged,so as to leave the tape free to unwind for an indefinite period of time,the ring g is also provided with shoulders gi at the sides of theprojections g', said shoulders also passing through slots or openings ofsufficient size to receive them in IOO IIO

the cover of the case a5, as shown in Fig. l,

and being brought by a sliding rotary movement of the ring, which can beeasily effected by the projections g', into position beneath the covera5, so that the pawl-disengager is retained in the posit-ion shown inFig. 6 until the ring is turned back again to permit the shoulders g2 tomove outward through the slots in the case-cover, as will be understoodfrom Fig. l. The spring g1 (see Fig. 5) tends to heep the ring in itsouter position, andthe spring (Z2 tends to throw the pawl intoengagement with the teeth of the ratchet when 1t 1s no longer held outof engagement by the rmg g.

The case a is provided with a dial or circle 7i; (see Fig. 2) on theside opposite the Winding mechanism thus far described, and a pointer k'is frictionally pivoted at the center of the ease, so that it can bemoved by the operator from one figure to the next in order to keep tallyof the number of lengths measured off by the tape in measuring a longline.

The operation of the instrument may be briey described, as follows: Thenthe tape a is to be unwound and used, the paWl-diseugager is moved intoposition to disengage the pawl e from the ratchet c, and any desiredlength of tape may then be unwound by drawing it out of the case in theusual manner. If any amount less than the entire length is required, thesaid amount may be unwound and the pawl disengager then moved, as shownin Fig. 5, to permit the pawl to engage the ratchet, when furtherunwinding of the tape will be prevented, as, owing to the engagement ofthe ratchet and pawl, the tapereel cannot be turned in the direction tounwind the tape Without turning the actuatingdrum in the direction toWind on the actuating-band f, which is prevented from winding on fartherby its stop f', and thus holds the tape a from further unwinding.VYtfhen, now, the tape is to be Wound in, the operator, holding thetape-case, pulls on the actuating-band f, and thus rotates the drum d,and through the ratcllet-and-pawl connection also rotates the tape-reeland rapidly winds on a length of tape. Then by releasing the strain onthe bandfit is immediately Wound up again by the spring c4, the pawlthen turning back over the teeth of the ratchet without moving thetape-reel, and immediately thereafter another .considerable length ofthe tape can be rapidly wound into the case by again pulling on thebandj'. Thus by intermittngly pulling ou the band f and permitting itsspring to Wind it up again the tape a is very rapidly wound into itscase.

The invention is not limited to the specific construction of the variousdevices described, as others having substantially the same eect may bereadily substituted by persons familiar with mechanical construction andare regarded as mechanical equivalents for the specic devices shown.

I claiml. As an improved article of manufacture, a tape-reellcomprisingan inclosing-case, a reelspindle having bearings in said case and a reelfixed thereon, a tape connected at one end with said reel and adapted tobe wound thereon, an actuating-drum of smaller diameter than said reelloose on said spindle, a band connected with said drum, a spring thatacts on said drum to Wind the band thereon, a clutch by which said drumand reel are normally connected in the movement of the drum in thedirection to wind the tape on the reel, but not in the other direction,and means for retaining said clutch disengaged to permit the tape to beunwound, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. The combination of the tape-reel, spindle, and ratchet fixed thereonwith an actuating-drum of smaller diameter than said tapereel, providedwith a pawl that co-operates with said ratchet, an actuating-band onsaid drum and provided with a stop, a spring acting ou said drum to windthe band thereon, and a pawl-disengager by which the pawl may beretained disengaged from the teeth of the ratchet to permit the movementof the latter, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

i THOMAS M. KENNEY.

lVitnesses:

Jos. P. LIVERMORE, JAS. J. MALONEY.

